Headlines:
- Daylight Savings Time ends November 6th
- USDA Supply and Demand Report & Crop Production Estimates scheduled for November 9th
- Explosion in Alabama shuts gas pipeline, shortages possible…
HELENA, Ala. (AP) — For the second time in two months, a pipeline that supplies gasoline to millions of people was shut down, raising the specter of another round of gas shortages and price increases. The disruption occurred when a track hoe — a machine used to remove dirt — struck the pipeline, ignited gasoline and caused an explosion Monday that sent flames and thick black smoke soaring over a forest in northern Alabama, Colonial Pipeline said. One worker was killed and five were injured. A September leak that spilled 252,000 to 336,000 gallons of gasoline occurred not far from the location of Monday’s explosion. That leak led to days of dry pumps and higher gas prices in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas while repairs were made. The cause of the leak still has not been determined, and the effects of the latest disruption weren’t immediately clear.
- Boost from ‘surging’ US grain exports sends ADM shares soaring
Shares of the agricultural giant Archer Daniels Midland jumped over 6%, as profits beat expectations thanks to “surging” US exports. ADM reported increased demand for its grain trading services, as buyers turn to North America due to tighter markets in South America. “With improving market conditions and a large US harvest, combined with the team’s solid execution capabilities, we feel good about the remainder of the year and a stronger 2017,” said ADM chairman and chief executive Juan Luciano. “After working through the challenging environment in the first half of the year, we capitalized on improving operating conditions in the third quarter and are positioned well for a solid finish to the year,” Mr Luciano said.
Summary:
The grain markets were hit by a trifecta of information today that sent futures prices spiraling. The USDA Harvest Progress and Wheat Planting numbers were rather favorable, crop conditions were also strong and the early November forecasts are also looking good. The USDA reported that 72% of the Corn crop is harvested, up 11 percent from last week’s report. The Soybean harvest was 87% complete versus 76% last week beating the 5 year average by 2%. Winter Wheat came in at 86% planted which was just shy of the 5 year average of 88%. The USD and Crude Oil were also down today although Crude did recover after making an intraday low at about 2:15 EST. Corn and Soybean were down big today. December Corn was off 6 points (1.69%) and Beans was off 19.75 points (1.95%). Both markets were up against resistance and had been overbought according to the stochastic technical indicator. Today’s move is consistent with the supply narrative that stands to be a drag on the market when demand seems to dry up. Last week there were consistent trickles of demand purchases that we have not seen this week yet. As suggested yesterday, the reality of the supply narrative makes the price advance vulnerable. Look for the November 9 USDA Supply/Demand report and Crop Production estimates to be a potential turning point. December Wheat was only down 2.50 points and did not breach yesterday’s low.
